Shillong, Jun 2: The Meghalaya government has defended its excise reforms and the rollout of the Integrated Excise Management System, saying the measures are aimed at transparency, revenue protection and aligning with national regulatory trends.
Liquor retailers have raised objections over reduced profit margins, leading to the lengthy response from the government.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Excise, Registration, Taxation and Stamps Department said it had “taken note of recent statements made by certain associations of liquor retailers regarding the Integrated Excise Management System (IEMS) and the rationalisation of retailer margins.”
The department added that “several claims being circulated are selective, incomplete and fail to present the larger public interest, fiscal realities and national regulatory context within which these reforms are being undertaken.”
The government stressed that Meghalaya’s steps are consistent with modernisation drives across the country.
“Across India, state governments are increasingly modernising excise administration through QR-based bottle tracking, digital inventory management, stricter compliance systems, supply-chain monitoring, structured pricing frameworks, and enhanced revenue protection measures,” it said. “States such as Delhi, Karnataka and several others are presently undertaking major excise reforms focused on transparency, digitisation and tighter regulatory oversight.”
The department noted that in many states retailer margins are tightly capped or commission structures are fixed by the government. In some states, such as Tamil Nadu, retail is only through a state-owned corporation.
On IEMS, the government said the system was introduced “primarily to modernise Meghalaya’s excise ecosystem and strengthen transparency and accountability across the liquor supply chain.”
Its key objectives include “prevention of illegal diversion and pilferage, curbing circulation of counterfeit liquor, plugging revenue leakages, strengthening enforcement capabilities, ensuring proper stock accountability and protecting consumers and legitimate businesses.”
The department said several digital services and online permits are already operational and that “digitisation is not intended to burden lawful retailers but to create a transparent and technology-driven regulatory framework in line with evolving national standards.”
Past audits have highlighted “deficiencies and leakages within excise administration systems, including non-realisation of duties and weaknesses in monitoring mechanisms.” With excise revenue such an important stream of income for the state exchequer, “the government would have been failing in its responsibility had it not introduced stronger systems for monitoring and transparency.”
Addressing the cut in retail margins, the department clarified that the revision “was not an isolated decision targeting retailers, but part of a broader restructuring exercise concerning the excise supply chain and pricing framework.”
After the revision, the maximum retail margin stands at 15.5 percent, down from 20 per cent earlier. This is still among the highest when compared with other states, with West Bengal limited to 7 per cent and Karnataka and Tamil Nadu pegged at 10 per cent. As part of the supply chain, retailers in Meghalaya continue to “enjoy significant profit margins” compared to other stakeholders.
